A group of open carry gun enthusiasts had a well-armed visit to Miami Beach on Saturday.

The group calling itself “Florida Carry” caused a disturbance when they showed up on the South Pointe Park Pier in June.

At that time, six members of the group startled fishermen and visitors, some of whom notified police.

Officers temporarily detained and disarmed the group, but determined that they were within their rights to carry weapons.

This time, the group announced it’s intention to show up at the pier on a Facebook page, and police were ready and accommodating.

So in Florida Open carry is ILLEGAL….but there are exemptions for various sporting activities, fishing included.

So I am pro open carry, tho I’m a person who generally prefers to carry concealed. Still people who don’t think about guns do need to be aware that indeed you don’t need to have a badge to carry a gun. This also is good for the type of people who look at their fellow man as prey rather than comrades…..and concealed carry is awesome to let those creeps know that just because they don’t SEE any guns, it doesn’t mean there aren’t any around.

Also a wardrobe failure, or a gust of wind should NOT be a jail sentence. Anybody against open carry is saying that if your coat rides up over your gun when you step out of the car, or if you bend down to pick up a dropped item, OR you’re simply printing you should GO TO JAIL.

That is wrong, and it’s also evil.

So Florida does not have open carry…and South Florida is a tropical climate…concealment is damn TYRANNY in that context, just like when Wisconsin had only open carry….sorry you are NOT open carrying when it’s -20 outside!

But Florida does have exemptions for open carrying if you are wetting a line, and they have used this as a platform for activism, and Florida carry frequently hold fishing events for public awareness.

Now I’m going to fast forward to this weeknend’s event that is getting all the drama. Go watch the video to see the point of contention. See people were carrying rifles, in some case some pretty comically badass rifles. Now I don’t much care for this as a rule, as open carry of long guns (in my humble opinion) border on brandishing, especially if you are carrying a rifle in a single-point sling.

I say “As a Rule” because context matters. This was NOT their standard fishing events, this was a political response to the event mentioned in the quoted text. In the article they claim there was a “Disturbance”, which I question as I’ve been following these fishing events for nearly a decade, and I haven’t read about a true “Disturbance” in any of them.

The police grossly overstepped their authority, and they are being sued for their actions. This “Line in the Sand” event was a RETALIATION, and part of that was that “If you illegally messed with people carrying pistols, FINE we’ll carry rifles!”

Besides the internet drama there were NO incidents.

Think about that, Six men with pistols were (illegally) detained, harassed, and threatened with drawn guns but when DOZENS show up with rifles and are met with pure professionalism!

Were they being “Assholes” and “Larpers”, or did they just prove a fucking point?

Also let’s not live in a bubble here. I think the Texas Open Carry folks were being total jackasses stomping around in their tactical gear.

Maybe I was right, maybe I was wrong, but Texas does have open carry now….and campus carry, so even if the etiquette was bad, the tactics were good.

So I applaud Florida Carry for hosting a great event, and sending a strong message that was obviously heard and understood.

And to people who I know and respect….please stop doing shabby things, it’s changing my opinions in a way I’m not pleased with.